Pitless well adapter

ABSTRACT

A pitless well adapter includes a mounting member which is positioned against the inner surface of the well casing, and which has a nipple that projects through an opening in the well casing. A coupling member is connected to the well pipe and is releasably connected to the mounting member by coacting tapered guide elements to thereby interconnect the well pipe to a delivery pipe which is connected to the nipple of the mounting member. An interior sealing element and an exterior sealing element are positioned around the exterior surface of the nipple and against the inner and outer surface of the well casing adjacent the opening therein to form a pressure passage around the exterior surface of the nipple and edge of the opening in the casing. A connecting passage connects the interior of the nipple with the pressure passage so that the seals formed by the sealing elements are under system pressure. A clamping member or washer and a clamping nut clamp the sealing elements against the well casing and nipple, and also secure the entire adapter to the well casing.

United States Patent 11 1 Kramer et at.

[ 51 Nov. 12,1974

1 1 PITLESS WELL ADAPTER [76] Inventors: Dean Kramer, 105 Mission Dr.,

Mason City, Iowa 50401; Jay D. Crawford, 1 13 4th St. North, Sheffield,Iowa 50475 [22] Filed: June 22, 1973 [21] Appl. No.: 372,858

[52] US. Cl 166/85, 166/88, 285/18 Primary Examiner.1ames A. LeppinkAttorney, Agent, or Firm-Williamson, Bains & Moore [57] ABSTRACT Apitless well adapter includes a mounting member which is positionedagainst the inner surface of the well casing, and which has a nipplethat projects through an opening in the well casing. A coupling memberis connected to the well pipe and is rcleasably connected to themounting member by coacting tapered guide elements to therebyinterconnect the well pipe to a delivery pipe which is connected to thenipple of the mounting member. An interior sealing element and anexterior sealing element are positioned around the exterior surface ofthe nipple and against the inner and outer surface of the well casingadjacent the opening therein to form a pressure passage around theexterior surface of the nipple and edge of the opening in the casing. Aconnecting passage connects the interior of the nipple with the pressurepassage so that the seals formed by the sealing elements are undersystem pressure. A clamping member or washer and a clamping nut clampthe sealing elements against the well casing and nipple, and also securethe entire adapter to the well casing.

4 Claims, 3 Drawing Figures SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION This inventionrelates to a pitless well adapter which is mounted on a well casing at apoint spaced below the upper end of the casing and which interconnectsthe well pipe to the delivery pipe.

It is an object of this invention to provide a simple and inexpensivenovel pitless well adapter which is mounted on a well casing undersystem pressure and which is secured thereto by a single clamping nut.

More specifically, it is an object of this invention to provide apitless well adapter in which the mounting member thereof is positionedagainst the inner surface of the well casing and is provided with anipple which projects through an opening in the well casing and isconnected to the delivery pipe. Sealing elements engage the exteriorsurface of the nipple and engage the inner and outer surface of thecasing to define a pressure passage around the nipple at the opening inthe casing. A contoured clamping member engages the exterior sealingelement and the entire adapter assembly including the coupling member issecured to the well casing by a single clamping nut. These and otherobjects and advantages of this invention will more fully appear from thefollowing description made in connection with the accompanying drawingswherein the like reference characters refer to the same or similar partsthroughout the several views.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. I is a perspective view of anovel pitless well adapter applied to a well casing;

FIG. 2 is a transverse cross-section taken approximately along line 2-2of FIG. 1 and looking in the direction of the arrows, and

FIG. 3 is a vertical cross-sectional view taken approximately along line33 of FIG. 3 and looking in the direction of the arrows.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT Referring now to thedrawings, and more specifically to FIG. 1, it will be seen that oneembodiment of the novel pitless well adapter designated generally by thereference numeral 10, is there shown. Thepitless well adapter isillustrated in mounted relation with respect to a wellcasing 11 which isprovided with a circular opening 12 therein. The pitless well adapter 10is mounted on the wall casing below the upper end thereof so that thedelivery pipe is located substantially below the surface of the groundand preferably below the frost line. I

The well adapter 10, includes a generally rectangular shaped mountingmember 13 having a substantially flat front face 14 and a substantiallyflat rear face 15. The mounting member has an opening 16 therein whichis centrally located with respect to the peripheral edges of themounting member.

The mounting member has a generally cylindrical elongate nipple 17integral therewith and projecting forwardly from the front face 14thereof. It will be noted that the outer end portion of the nipple isprovided with external threads 18 and internal threades 19. A deliverypipe 20 having external threads on one end thereof threadedly engagesthe internal threads 19 of the nipple to interconnect the mountingmember to the delivery pipe in communicating relation therewith.

An annular peripheral lip 21 projects forwardly from the front face 14of the mounting member and is spaced from the exterior surface of thenipple 17. It will be noted that the annular lip 14 is actuallycomprised of vertical lip elements 21a and transverse lip elements 21b.It will further be noted that the forward or outer surfaces of thetransverse lip elements 21b are concave as best seen in FIG. 2.

An interior annular sealing element 23 formed of a suitable yieldableresilient material such as rubber or the like, is positioned around andin an engaging relation with the exterior surface of the nipple l7 andis positioned against the interior surface of the casing 11 adjacent theopening 12 therein. The annular sealing ring is also engaged by theannular lip 21 on the mounting member as best seen in FIG. 3.

An exterior annular sealing element 24 is also positioned around and inengaging relation with the exterior surface of the nipple 17 and alsoengages the exterior surface of the well casing 11 adjacent the opening12 therein. The exterior sealing element 23 which is also formed of acompressible resilient material such as rubber or the like, is providedwith a radially extending flange 25 to thereby define an annularshoulder 26.

A contoured annular clamping member 27 engages the exterior sealingelement 24 and clamps the same in fluid sealing relation against theexterior surface of the nipple and against the exterior surface of thecasing. The annular clamping member 27 has an axially projecting annularportion 28 which defines a shoulder engaging surface 29. Referring nowto FIG. 2, it will be noted that the clamping member 27 has upper andlower inner transverse surface portions 27a which are of concaveconfiguration while the outer surface 27b of the annular clampingelement is substantially flat. An internally threaded clamping nut 30threadedly engages the exterior threads 18 on the nipple and urges theannular clamping member 27 progressively into clamping relation with theexterior sealing element 24. In this regard, the clamping nut 30 securesthe mounting member in mounted relation on the well casing 11.

It will be noted that the external diameter of the nipple 17 is slightlysmaller than the opening 12 in the casing to define an annular spacetherebetween. An interconnecting passage 31 extends through the wall ofthe nipple 17 and intercommunicates the interior of the nipple with theannular space defined between the edge of the opening in the casing andthe exterior of the nipple. The exterior and interior sealing elementscooperate with the well casing and the nipple to thereby define anannular pressure passage 32 through which water passes so that the sealsare under system pressure.

The mounting member 13 is provided with a pair of vertically extendingflanges 33 which project rearwardly from the rear face 15 thereof. Eachof the vertical flanges 33 has an inwardly projecting verticallyextending guideway element 34 integral therewith. The vertical surfacesof the guideway elements 34 are declined downwardly and forwardly toform downwardly tapered guideways 35.

The well adapter 10 also includes a coupling member 36 which has anL-shaped passage 37 therein as best seen in FIG. 3. It will be notedthat the Lshaped passage 37 includes an internally threaded downwardlyfacing portion 38 which is threadedly engaged by the upper threaded endof a well pipe P. The coupling member also includes an upwardly facinginternally threaded recess 39 which is threadedly engaged by the lowerthreaded end portion of a drop pipe 40.

The coupling member has a substantially flat front face 41 provided withan annular recess 42 therein which receives a compressable annularsealing element 43 therein. lt will be noted that when the couplingmember 36 is coupled to the mounting member 13, the flat front facethereof is urged into confronting engaging relation with the rear flatface of the mounting member. When the coupling member is coupled to themounting member, the L-shaped passage communicates with the opening inthe mounting member and the interior of the nipple intercommunicates thewell pipe P with the delivery pipe 20. The annular sealing element 43forms a seal radially outwardly of the intercommunicating continuouspassage between the coupling member 36 and the mounting member 13.

The coupling member 36 is provided with a pair of outwardly projectingvertically extending guide elements 44 which project outwardly from thefront portion thereof and which are vertically tapered as best seen inFIG. 3. In this respect, the vertical guide elements 44 have rearsurfaces which are inclined. These vertical guide elements coact withthe guideways on the mounting member to progressively urge the frontface ofthe coupling member against the rear face of the mounting memberso that a fluid seal is formed therebetween. A stop element 46 whichprojects forwardly from the front surface of the coupling member at theupper end thereof'engages the upper surface of the mounting member whenthe coupling member is completely coupled to the mounting member as bestseen in FIG. 3.

It will be noted that the entire well adapter assembly is secured inclamped sealing relation on the wall casing by a single clamping nut 30.This arrangement obviates the need for the saddle clamp which istypically used with well adapters. It is pointed out that the mountingmember 13 after being ciamped to the inner surface of the well casing,will not materially obstruct the interior of the well casing, as bestseen in FIGS. 2 and 3, when the coupling member is disconnectedtherefrom. It will also be noted that the interior and exterior sealingelements are only slightly larger than the opening in the well casingwhile the contoured clamping member 27 has a diameter correspondingsubstantially to the diameter of the exterior sealing element. Thisarrangement, while providing a highly effective system pressure sealbetween the inner and outer surfaces of the casing around the opening,also provides a very simple and inexpensive arrangement which isextremely simple to install.

Thus it will be seen that I have provided a system which is not only ofsimple and inexpensive construction, but one which functions in a moreefiicient manner than any heretofore known comparable structure.

What is claimed is:

l. A pitless well adapter for attachment to a well casing having anopening therein spaced below the upper end of the casing, comprising:

a mounting member having a front face and a rear face and adapted to bepositioned interiorly of the casing against the inner surface thereof,said mounting member having an opening therein and having an annular lipintegral with said front face and projecting forwardly therefrom, saidmounting member having a pair of vertically extending elongate spacedapart guide elements on the rear face thereof and defining a pair ofdownwardly tapering guideways on opposite sides of said opening,

a cylindrical nipple integral with said mounting member and projectingforwardly from the front face thereof through the opening in the casing,said nipple communicating with the opening in the mounting member andhaving an externally and internally threaded outer end portion, theexternal diameter of said nipple being only slightly less than thediameter of the opening in the casing to define an annular spacetherebetween, an interconnecting passage extending through thecylindrical wall of the nipple and intercommunicating the interior ofthe nipple with the annular space,

a coupling member having a passage therethrough and being adapted to beconnected in communicating relation with the well pipe,

a pair of vertically extending spaced apart, elongate downwardlytapering guide elements on said coupling member engagable with saidguideways on said mounting member to urge said coupling member intofluid sealing relation with the rear face of the mounting member and tointercommunicate the passage of the coupling member with the opening inthe mounting member,

an interior annular compressable sealing element positioned around andengaging said nipple and being engaged by said lip of said mountingmember, the interior sealing element adapted to be interposed betweenthe front face of the mounting member and the inner surface of thecasing to form a seal thereat,

an exterior sealing element positioned around and engaging the nippleand adapted to engage the exterior surface of the casing adjacent theopening therein, said sealing elements cooperating with said nipple andsaid casing to define an annular pressure passage located between thesealing elements and exteriorly of the nipple,

an annular clamping member corresponding generally in size to the sizeof said exterior sealing element and engaging the latter,

and an internally threaded clamping nut threadedly engaging the exteriorthreads on the nipple and urging said clamping member into clampingrelation with the exterior sealing element and clamping the mountingmember on the casing.

2. A well adapter as defined in claim 1 wherein said exterior sealingelement has a radial flange extending outwardly therefrom to define anannular shoulder on the exterior sealing element, the clamping memberincluding an axially extending portion to define an interior annularshoulder engaging surface thereon, engagable with said shoulder on saidexterior sealing element and serving to simultaneously urge the exteriorsealing element into sealing relation with the exterior surface of thecasing and with the exterior surface of the nipple.

3. The well adapter as defined in claim 2 wherein said clamping memberhas vertically spaced apart transversely concave inner surface portionsand has a substantially flat outer surface engagable by said clampingnut.

4. The well adapter as defined in claim 1 wherein said annular lip onsaid mounting member includes a pair of vertically spaced aparttransverse portions each having a convex outer surface.

1. A pitless well adapter for attachment to a well casing having anopening therein spaced below the upper end of the casing, comprising: amounting member having a front face and a rear face and adapted to bepositioned interiorly of the casing against the inner surface thereof,said mounting member having an opening therein and having an annular lipintegral with said front face and projecting forwardly therefrom, saidmounting member having a pair of vertically extending elongate spacedapart guide elements on the rear face thereof and defining a pair ofdownwardly tapering guideways on opposite sides of said opening, acylindrical nipple integral with said mounting member and projectingforwardly from the front face thereof through the opening in the casing,said nIpple communicating with the opening in the mounting member andhaving an externally and internally threaded outer end portion, theexternal diameter of said nipple being only slightly less than thediameter of the opening in the casing to define an annular spacetherebetween, an interconnecting passage extending through thecylindrical wall of the nipple and intercommunicating the interior ofthe nipple with the annular space, a coupling member having a passagetherethrough the being adapted to be connected in communicating relationwith the well pipe, a pair of vertically extending spaced apart,elongate downwardly tapering guide elements on said coupling memberengagable with said guideways on said mounting member to urge saidcoupling member into fluid sealing relation with the rear face of themounting member and to intercommunicate the passage of the couplingmember with the opening in the mounting member, an interior annularcompressable sealing element positioned around and engaging said nippleand being engaged by said lip of said mounting member, the interiorsealing element adapted to be interposed between the front face of themounting member and the inner surface of the casing to form a sealthereat, an exterior sealing element positioned around and engaging thenipple and adapted to engage the exterior surface of the casing adjacentthe opening therein, said sealing elements cooperating with said nippleand said casing to define an annular pressure passage located betweenthe sealing elements and exteriorly of the nipple, an annular clampingmember corresponding generally in size to the size of said exteriorsealing element and engaging the latter, and an internally threadedclamping nut threadedly engaging the exterior threads on the nipple andurging said clamping member into clamping relation with the exteriorsealing element and clamping the mounting member on the casing.
 2. Awell adapter as defined in claim 1 wherein said exterior sealing elementhas a radial flange extending outwardly therefrom to define an annularshoulder on the exterior sealing element, the clamping member includingan axially extending portion to define an interior annular shoulderengaging surface thereon, engagable with said shoulder on said exteriorsealing element and serving to simultaneously urge the exterior sealingelement into sealing relation with the exterior surface of the casingand with the exterior surface of the nipple.
 3. The well adapter asdefined in claim 2 wherein said clamping member has vertically spacedapart transversely concave inner surface portions and has asubstantially flat outer surface engagable by said clamping nut.
 4. Thewell adapter as defined in claim 1 wherein said annular lip on saidmounting member includes a pair of vertically spaced apart transverseportions each having a convex outer surface.